Todays News From yesterdays games

byAaron Gleeman


Santana shuts out Royals to pick up sixth win Gavin Floyd came within two outs of a no-hitter Tuesday night against the Twins, but Joe Mauer canceled history with a line drive double past a diving Nick Swisher in left-center field. Mauer also drew a pair of walks versus Floyd while the rest of the Twins' lineup reached base just once in 26 trips to the plate against him. Already at 105 pitches, Floyd was quickly pulled after giving up the double, settling for a victory while allowing just an unearned run over 8.1 innings.Floyd is now 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA through six starts and the 25-year-old former top prospect has plenty of long-term potential, but there's never been a better time to sell high on him. Lost in the s! parkling ERA and near no-hitter is that Floyd sports an ugly 19-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 39.2 innings this season. Beyond that, the defense behind Floyd has converted over 85 percent of his balls in play into outs, which isn't close to even being in the realm of sustainable.He's been nearly impossible to hit thus far and made the undisciplined Twins look especially silly Tuesday, but Floyd's career ERA still stands at 5.61, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 143-to-101 in 218.1 innings, and he's a fly-ball pitcher who calls one of MLB's most power-inflating ballparks home. In other words, he's due to come crashing back down to earth soon enough and if an owner in your league is willing to pay a premium for him before then, you should oblige.While Floyd lowers his opponent's batting average to a ridiculous .132 and has a jerk columnist advising people to trade him, here are some other notes from around baseball .* Nate M cLouth was one of my favorite sleepers heading into the season, but he's surpassed my wildest expectations thus far. Moved to the second spot in the Pirates' lineup Tuesday for the first time this season, McLouth went 3-for-5 and notched his second multi-homer game of the year. He hasn't done much running yet after going 22-of-23 swiping bases in a part-time role last year, but has more than made up for it by being an absolute monster at the plate.He's now batting .333/.417/.652 with nine homers and 13 doubles in 32 games, which is amazing given how little pop he showed while posting a modest .127 Isolated Power during five seasons in the minors. McLouth homered a total of 40 times in over 2,300 trips to the plate in the minors, yet has already gone deep 33 times in fewer than 1,000 plate appearances as a big leaguer. His Isolated Power in the majors is .202, which is 59 percent higher than his minors mark.* Lance Berkman had a huge game Tuesday, going 5-for-5 with two doubles, two steals, and four runs in a 6-5 win over the Nationals. Not only is Berkman now hitting .353/.428/.731 on the year, he's already swiped a half-dozen bases after failing to crack double-digit steals in any of his first eight seasons. Jose Valverde closed out the one-run lead following Berkman's heroics and has now thrown 10.2 straight scoreless innings after coughing up 11 runs through his first 7.1 frames.* Jimmy Rollins went 4-for-4 in an extended spring training game Monday and then followed it up by going 2-for-4 with a homer Tuesday, seemingly guaranteeing that he'll come off the disabled list Thursday. There's speculation that the Phillies would ! like to delay his return for a couple more days, but as Rollin! s put it : "I have a plane ticket." He hasn't started a game since April 8, but was hitting .308/.341/.513 prior to the injury and looks ready to pick up right where he left off.* New Reds general manager Walt Jocketty responded that "it's a little bit premature" when asked Tuesday about possibly trading Ken Griffey Jr., but also made it clear that he's open for business. "I've had no trade discussions with him," Jocketty said. "I'm not saying that couldn't happen, but it just hasn't at this point." The Reds hold a $16.5 million option on Griffey for next season or could choose to buy him out for $4 million, so Jocketty may try to cash him in before then.AL Quick Hits: Victor Martinez is considered day-to-day after sitting out Tuesday's game with a sore neck . Curt Schilling (biceps) began his comeback by playing catch on flat ground Tuesday and is expected to do the same Thursday . Manager Joe Girardi announced Tuesday that Kei Igawa will likely be called up from Triple-A to start Friday against the Tigers . Scott Baker (groin) is headed to the disabled list, with Glen Perkins slated to start in his place this weekend . With Jason Michaels designated for assignment Tuesday, the Indians! will go with Ben Francisco as the new platoon partner for David Dellucci . Dr. James Andrews found zero structural damage after examining Adam Loewen's elbow Monday, but no timetable has been established for his return . Wilson Betemit came off the shelf Tuesday after missing three weeks with pink eye and started at third base, pushing Alberto Gonzalez to Triple-A . According to MLB.com, the Padres and Marlins are interested in Jacque Jones, who was designated for assignment by the Tigers! earlier this week.NL Quick Hits: Chipper Jones smacked his 10th homer Tuesday, going 2-for-2 with two walks to raise his OPS to an amazing 1.220 . After returning to the lineup Monday, Orlando Hudson sat out Tuesday's game and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his strained hamstring . Rafael Furcal was scratched from Tuesday's game with a stiff lower back, giving Chin-Lung Hu a start in his place . Jonathan Sanchez had a pretty 1.21 ERA over his previous five starts, but was knocked around by the! Pirates for seven runs Tuesday . Jason Schmidt's (shoulder) scheduled simulated game was canceled Tuesday because he was still tired from a 70-pitch bullpen session Friday . Jair Jurrjens worked at least six innings Tuesday for the sixth straight start, striking out 10 while holding the Padres to one run for his fourth victory . Nick Johnson homered and walked three times in four trips to the plate Tuesday, pushing his on-base percentage to .410 . Mark Mulder (shoulder) had another ugly minor-league rehab start Monday at Triple-A and looks far from